Will be interesting to see Verlander and Fister bat in the first 2 games.

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Here is the tough thing with Verlander and hitting. If he's pitching well, but it's still a close game, Leyland will have to make a choice about pinch-hitting for him once the game gets to around the 7th inning. So, if there are runners on base and it's a 0-0 game, then you almost have to pinch-hit for the pitcher.

Here is the tough thing with Verlander and hitting. If he's pitching well, but it's still a close game, Leyland will have to make a choice about pinch-hitting for him once the game gets to around the 7th inning. So, if there are runners on base and it's a 0-0 game, then you almost have to pinch-hit for the pitcher.

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If it's 0-0 in the 7th inning, you take the Verlander strikeout and just go on from there.

At least we have a manger that knows how to manage with a pitcher in the lineup. Leyland is a 2 time NL manager of the year and also won an NL world series with the Marlins in 97. He won't run into a situation that he hasn't seen 500 times before.

Having to put Young in the outfield and having to drop out Berry or Garcia is another consequence. And of course there is zero disadvantage for the NL having to play by the AL rules, except that they might not bother to have a guy like Young on the roster in the first place (because they would have been outbid by an AL team on the margin).

Tigers may want to tweak the roster for the WS, but JL is indicating no change at the current time... he left the door open.

One big change of strategy going on now from 2006 involves our preparation during the layoff. Scrimmage against minor league players tomorrow in a closed practice.

“Any time you can see live pitching, it keeps you fresh. Whether you are hitting the ball or just watching. I like that we’re doing. This is a very smart thing to do. Get work in and not sit around and wait.”

Berry said it felt a little like spring training.

“As you go into a World Series you need to pinch hit,” Leyland said. “So we need to sharpen up (Don) Kelly, (Ramon) Santiago, and (Danny) Worth and guys like that.”

Leyland said he would also have pitchers that they anticipate playing in the National League cities hit in the cages to prepare over the next couple of days. Gerald Laird said it was a good opportunity for guys to stay fresh.

“Skipper’s got a good plan to have to play a couple games and give us Tuesday off,” Laird said. “We’re rather just stay here and work out in the stadium. You don’t want to be traveling all over the place just to find good weather. It’s good that Mother Nature’s going to let us stay here and get our work in.

“You need to get some at-bats and stay sharp. They learned in ’06 and Skipper has a plan to keep guys sharp. Play a couple games, keep up with the speed of the game and prepare us for wherever we have to go.”

This is from an article talking about how great Valverde's mechanics are now.

He just wanted to focus on his mechanics and regaining the form that helped him convert 49 of 49 saves last year and 35 of 40 this season. Much like his last two playoff outings, when he was roughed up in Game 4 of the Division Series against the Athletics and in Game 1 of the Championship Series against the Yankees, Valverde didn't get the results he wanted.

In the scrimmage, he gave up a walk to Andy Dirks, then back-to-back singles to Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, which scored a run.

But for Valverde, the repetitions, not the result, amounted to a successful outing — simply because he was getting his feel back and comfort in throwing the pitches he wanted, where he wanted them. "I feel great. I made all the pitches I had to and that's it," Valverde said before Monday's scrimmage. "I have my comfort zone, always. Everybody has their bad moments and good moments. The last two days, I've pitched and worked on my stuff to be ready for the (World Series)."

Coke has an enormous ERA against righties and Valverde against lefties. And lately, Valverde has stunk against both.

I don't have that much faith in Coke based on just a few escapes. He allowed 2 base runners in one of them and already had one out on the board when he entered the game. The only thing that I do like about him is that he throws strikes and is much less likely to get into a mess through walks. That is my main problem with Valverde is that he constantly walks the tying or winning run to the plate instead of challenging guys ahead of them.

I have a lot more confidence in Smyly and Porcello, but they are young and Leyland isn't going to trust them. Albequerque is also another option for a closer of course.

Expect to see just about everybody pitch at some point in this series. It's not going to go down like the Yankees sweep.

Leyland also made it very clear that he is going with 4 starting pitchers in the WS. 1) Verlander. 2) Fister. 3) Sanchez. 4) Scherzer. The only surprise here to me is that he doesn't have Scherzer going game 3 and then potentially again in game 7. It seems a little too much to expect Sanchez to pull off a high pressure W on the road to end the season. I'd rather see Scherzer go twice than Sanchez, because he has better "stuff" and just had a no hitter through 6. Sanchez has been nice though and it more used to batting/ bunting, so maybe that will come in handy in a big game.

I still can't believe how difficult it was for this great team to win the division and sneak into the playoffs. We are a much better team with a healthy Fister and the addition of Sanchez, so let's hope they prove it and go down in history as winners.

Can't help but to think of next year a little bit with Victor back in the lineup. It's a shame that he couldn't rehab this year and rejoin the team over the last month.

The problem with any reliever save Coke at this point is going to be rust.... when was the last time any of the other relievers got much of a burn. Nice problem to have but with how our starters have gone and then the week off....

I have more faith in our closer then most, but with him.... he needs to only go into the game in a save chance, he's never been good otherwise. The lose against Oakland should have never happened, never should have been in the game in the first place.